Eugene Pak was handling intellectual property and transactional work at DLA Piper eight or nine years ago when he found his niche. While representing a Northern California brewery in a dispute, he quickly grew fond of the craft beer industry—the beer itself was pretty good, too—so when his client suggested he focus more attention on the burgeoning market, he hopped in.

For Pak, shifting to a newly specialized practice meant finding a new firm, one that offered the right platform for someone catering to startup and small breweries with major needs and minimal funds. He followed a friend to 65-lawyer, Oakland, California-based Wendel Rosen Black & Dean, a firm with billing rates that suited his new clients, as well as attorneys who could help them with all their legal needs—IP, corporate, real estate or anything else.